What Lies Beneath
by Karia-Wolf
Summary: After having to stay with with Ludwig for a while, Lovino begins to harbor strange feelings for the German. This is the story of how their feelings came to be. WOW, this summary really sucks balls, huh? FAIL SUMMARY IS A FAIL!
1. Lunch Day

_**Ch.1**_

_Germany._

I had been walking to my little brother's house, so why was I thinking of that bastard, you might ask? Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning, rather than rant all day about it…

_Bring Brrrrring Brrring!_

'_AGH! Why must that God damned phone be ringing at this time of day?'_

I opened my eyes to look over at the alarm clock by my bed. Shining clearly at my face was the time, 6:15. Who could possibly be calling at this hour? I reached over to my cell phone. The house phone had ceased not even 5 freaking seconds ago! Either it was a different person, or they were determined to wake me up today. I didn't take the time to look at the caller I.D. The instant the phone was to my ear, I let out a string of curses, Italian and English alike. There may have even been a speck of Spanish and French in there, too.

"Oh! I'm sorry, fratello! Did I do something wrong?" Oh, I could have killed him. I would have if he had been right there. And if he weren't my little brother. Damn that Feliciano.

"Yes, you moron. You called me at 6:15 in the morning! The sun is barely up!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry! Should I call back later?"

"No, I'm already up, thanks to you. What do you want?" I was really losing my patience.

"I'm sorry!"

"Just answer the damn question!"

"Oh! I almost forgot! I meant to ask you if you wanted to go out to lunch today."

"…Uh, who all will be there?", I asked. I had to know if that potato bastard would be there.

"Me and Germany! And Japan should be there, too!"

"No."

"Huh? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"…"

"Oh. Is it because Germany will be there? I guess I should have known…" Shit. He sounded really depressed now. I may not show it much, but I hated to make my brother sad, especially enough to make him cry. I always felt guilty after we fought, because he would get teary eyed afterwards.

"You're damn right it's because he will be there", I growled.

"…So does that mean you won't come?"

"Oh, I'll come, but he better not try and talk to me." I meant that whole-heartedly.

"Yay! So I'll come pick you up around 11:30, okay? Dress casually! It won't be as long ride, 'kay? Bye, and see you soon!"

"Wait!" I said, but it was too late. He had hung up. I meant to ask him if the other two would be riding with us. I sure as hell didn't want to be beside the potato sucking freak in the car. I wouldn't mind being beside Japan, he was quiet enough, but Germany? I felt sick just thinking about it.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I had taken the time to shower, change, and do anything else necessary to get ready for lunch with my brother and his friends. I had just been daydreaming about nothing in particular. Mainly just my childhood with Spain. I got up off my couch and went to the door. Opening it, I was surprised at who I saw. Feliciano was there, but he was not what got my attention. Germany was there also. I had really been expecting him to wait out in the car with Japan. Again, I was brought out of my thoughts.

"Ciao, Fratello! Siete pronti ad andare, ora?" This, of course, came from Feliciano. From the potato sucker, not a word. Huh, guess he got the message not to say anything to me.

"Si, sono pronto ad andare, idiota." I grumbled. Why did I even agree to this?

"Is it okay that you sit beside Japan on the way up there?" Feliciano asked me.

"Yeah, sure, whatever", I said. Maybe there really was a God up there, answering my prayers. It would be the first time he ever did. Then something came to my mind, and I felt that I needed to ask.

"Who is driving us up there?" I asked my little brother.

"Oh, Germany is! Isn't that nice of him?"

"Sure, whatever", I said.

"I'm sitting up front with him, and you and Japan will sit in the back, okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

The three of us got into the car and headed off. Italy explained that we were going to a nice café up on the border between the north and south part of our country. As soon as he said where it was, I knew the exact café. It was one I had some people build so that we had a place to meet up at occasionally, rather than having to go way up into his part of the country, or way down in mine, just to find a nice enough café to talk privately in. Sadly, we hadn't been in several months. We had resorted to just going to each other's houses. After Feliciano finally finished talking, Japan and I started a nice conversation that lasted the rest of the ride to the café.

Once we got inside, a waitress escorted us to the table. I looked her over. She was very pretty, I could tell, and she seemed to know this. With me being the closest to her, she chose to begin flirting with me. She stopped briefly to take our orders, then resumed her flirtatious attitude. I tried my best to be responsive, but there was just one problem.

I was not straight. I was pure gay.

A/N: Okay. First chapter of my first fanfiction. And it's gonna be a lemon later on, too. Please don't run away because I said that! It'll be good, I swear! If it isn't, then please, come shoot me. Seriously. I'll be waiting with my hands up.

Translations:

Fratello- Brother (Italian)

"Ciao, Fratello! Siete pronti ad andare, ora?"- "Hello, Brother! Are you ready to go, now?" (Italian)

"Si, sono pronto ad andare, idiota."- "Yes, I'm ready to go now, idiot." (Italian)

Well, guess that's it then. Please don't die from the shittiness of this chapter, kay? It gets much better in the next chapter, I swear!


	2. First Day

**Authors Note**: Anything with this * means that there is a note, explanation, or translation about it at the end of the chapter. I meant to do translations at the end of the first chapter, but forgot, so if there are any question, just ask me!

_**Ch.2**_

_'Oh God, shoot me now, I want out of this, so please show mercy just this once!_' I thought. Why was this happening to me? The waitress just wouldn't give up on trying to keep my attention on her. I was starting to get desperate for a distraction for the waitress, or a reason to ignore her. Then it happened. God finally answered my prayers. I had myself a distraction, but there was just one small problem. It was coming from the wrong person!

"Um, excuse me, Miss, but we are ready to order."

_'That bastard! Why could he not just keep quiet and let Feliciano or Japan handle this!_'

"Oh! Of course! What would you like, sir?" She asked.

I stopped listening, and instead chose to glare in his direction. How dare he involve himself in my problems like that! All of a sudden, I noticed that he was looking at me. I intensified my glare, before realizing he wasn't the only one looking at me.

"Errr, are you going to order your food, Romano-san*?" Oh, so they had all been waiting for my order.

"Um, I think I'll just have any pasta with tomato sauce, some garlic bread, and some *Barbaresco wine, please." God, how embarrassing! After about 15 minutes, our food arrived. Feliciano had gotten Penne pasta with white Alfredo sauce and garlic bread. Japan had gotten tomato and basil *Bruschetta. Germany, being the potato sucking freak that he is, decided to go with *potato Gnocchi. Bastard. Why did they even have potato recipes in Italy? Probably a result of Feliciano being around *Kraut so much. Huh. Whatever.

We all sat and enjoyed our food, talking to each other as we ate. I learned that Feliciano had to go to a meeting with Greece soon, and that potato muncher wasn't going to go with him. Japan also had a meeting, and would be traveling to Turkey to discuss trading. Germany would be staying at home until the other two came back from their separate trips. They would be arriving just a couple of days apart from each other if everything went alright. And me? I would be home alone. Then Feliciano popped a question on me, one that I wasn't quite sure how to answer.

"*Fratello, what will you do while I am gone? I can't call you or visit you until I have left Greece's house. Who will you talk to?" He said.

"I can survive without you for a little while, you know. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine", I growled. Feliciano just acted as if I had not even spoken, and just went on. All of a sudden, he made a suggestion that made me want to save him the trouble of packing and buying a plane ticket for his trip to Greece, and just punt him there with my boot.

"Hey, I know! Why don't you go stay with Ludwig! I'm sure you will be fine if you stay with him! He will take great care of you!" He exclaimed. Sometimes I wondered if he dropped his brains somewhere along the way here to have suggested such an incredulous idea.

"Absolutely not! Why would I want to stay with that bastard! I would rather chop my balls off, black out in a sewer, and die than stay with him!", I shouted. For some reason, my eyes went to the bastard, and I noticed he had a funny look on his face. He looked almost hurt. Strange. For some reason, I didn't get any satisfaction from it.

"But I'm sure he wouldn't mind. In fact, we talked about it on our way to get you for lunch! He said it was fine with him. Please, Fratello? I don't want you to get lonely while I'm gone." I was about to answer when Kraut breath himself spoke to me. So much for him not speaking to me today. Dammit. As I made eye-contact with him, I felt strange. Almost guilty for what I said. Almost. What was with me? Why did I feel like this all of a sudden? Was something wrong with me?

"I really wouldn't mind if you came to stay at my house for a little while, Romano. You are more than welcome to come over."

In the end, after much arguing, mostly between me and my little brother, it was decided I would stay at *patata bastardo's house while Feliciano was gone. What most people didn't know was that I probably wouldn't be able to survive while my Fratello was gone. He came over so often to stay with me, I had grown accustomed to it. I needed someone there with me while he was gone. It was why I had finally agreed to go live with HIM for a while. So it was decided. Feliciano would be leaving for Greece's house in two days, and the bastardo would come and get me after saying goodbye to Feliciano.

The two days had passed by very quickly. I had packed everything I would be needing for my stay. Now there was nothing to do but wait for Germany to call me to let me know he was almost to my house. I decided to bring my bags and suitcase into the living room with me while I waited. After another minute of waiting, he finally called.

"Romano, I'm turning down your street right now. Are you ready to go?" He questioned.

"Of course, bastard. I will be right out."

"Okay, see you in a second. Bye."

"Yeah, whatever, bye." I hung up the phone and took my stuff to the door. After a moment, there was a knock, and I let Germany into the house. He looked amazed at how much stuff I had with me.

"Would you like for me to get any of your stuff for you?" Judging by the look he suddenly got on his face, he realized he probably should not have asked that, so he was surprised at my answer.

"Yeah, sure. Here, carry this, and be careful with my stuff, Kraut", I commanded as I handed him my two duffel bags. They were actually rather heavy, but he managed them quite well. We headed out to his car, and loaded everything into the trunk. Getting into the car, I noticed Germany looked almost nervous. Who could blame him? He was bringing home someone who could, and usually did, put a sailor to shame with his mouth and colorful vocabulary. I got into his car, and buckled up. The ride was rather uncomfortable, and quiet. It was actually a little awkward. It took us several hours to get to his house, despite how fast we were driving. Luckily, I had brought snacks and drinks with me for the ride, thanks to Germany warning me about how long it would take to get to his place. I sat there, quietly munching on little Italian snacks, and occasionally taking sips of my drinks.

After a while, I noticed slightly familiar things around us. Then it finally hit me. We were finally past German borders, and were almost to his house. The reason things looked familiar was because I often saw pictures of Feliciano while he was here. After another five minutes, we pulled to Germany's house. Getting out, I was shocked to find that it was actually different from what I had figured it to be. Instead of being small and bland, it was actually quite large, and beautiful. All of a sudden, Germany's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Would you like me to get your bags again?" He questioned me, looking like he was thinking about something.

"Yeah, sure. Is the door unlocked?"

"Yes, Japan isn't leaving until tomorrow, so he stayed here while I went to go pick you up. He should be in the kitchen right about now, cooking dinner. It's about 6:00. Are you hungry?" I thought about what he said, and realized that despite having eaten on the way up here, I had developed a little hunger.

"Yes. Do you have any idea what he is making?"

"Yes, he is preparing *miso soup, with *sukiyaki, *yakitori, *rice, and *sushi, but I don't know what kind it is though. He refused to tell me, which is rather unnerving, considering some of the things Japanese people cook with, and eat on an almost daily basis." He looked rather nervous now. Was this what had been bothering him when he was at my house? I looked at him with a face that said I hadn't the slightest idea what any of that stuff was except the rice, of course, but even that one was questionable, thanks to Germany's last comment.

"Should I be afraid of what I'm about to be eating?" I asked him.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too afraid of Japan's cooking, since it isn't anything like English 'cooking'. It won't kill you, or even come close, for that matter, and it will not mutate you, either. It just comes with a few surprises sometimes, is all. I'm sure you will enjoy it. And it doesn't have potatoes or *bratwurst in it either. But it doesn't have tomatoes either, although we do have some tomatoes in the kitchen."

"Oh, okay, then. So you were able to drag yourself away from your potatoes and bratwurst intake so I could have Japanese food? I'm truly honored!" When I saw Germany's face, I wanted to burst out laughing. It was better than the time Feliciano introduced us, and I told him to suck my balls, and called him a damn potato eater.

"Very well, then. Let's go inside, shall we?" At this, I was surprised. I kind of expected a comeback of some sort, but he said nothing else.

"Yeah, sure, let's go."

As soon as we entered the house, I smelled dinner cooking. I had to admit, it smelled pretty damn good! Once again, my thoughts were interrupted by the Kraut breath.

"Would you like for me to show you your room right now? You will need to go there right before dinner, anyways", He asked.

"Yeah. So why will I need to go there before dinner?" Judging by the look now on his face, either he was a little embarrassed, or afraid, probably of my reaction.

"Well, you see, Romano, when Japan cooks Japanese food, he prefers that we wear a Japanese kimono, use chopsticks, and use the words *Itadakimasu, and *Gochisousamadeshita before and after we eat. I will explain these once we get to your room", He spoke. He led me through the entry-way, then the living-room, and then down a small hall-way. At the end of it was a gray-white door.

"This is my room." He led me down the hall to a door on our left. It had a medium-light-blue door. "This is Feliciano's room." Again, he led me down the hall to another door, this one on our right. "This is the bathroom for people who are not actually staying at my house. There are bathrooms in each bedroom, including the guest-rooms." We stopped at a beige colored door to our left. "This is Japan's bedroom." Finally, we reached the final door, this one a very attractive shade of golden brown. "And this shall be your room."

We entered the room, and I let out a gasp, only audible to me. The room's walls were red. The curtains were a medium shade of green. The bed's comforter was red with green twining into it. The decoration pillows were the opposite. Green with red blended into it perfectly, just like the comforter. The floor was golden brown hard-wood, and went well with the rest of the room. There was a cherry-wood dresser, and a matching bed-side-table. On top of the table was a green lamp with a red shade on top of it. Upon further inspection of the room, I noticed there were two other doors besides the one we came in through. There was a basket, which I assumed was a clothes-hamper. There was also a desk with a few small shelves on one side, and a small lamp on the other, probably for when doing papers or something. Beside the desk, at the end with the lamp, was a waste bin. There was some sort of Cabinet, which, upon further inspection, had a T.V set, stereo, game consoles, and a DVD player. He sure wasn't trying to spoil his guests, now, was he? Nope, not one bit.

"The door right there in the corner is your closet, and the one to the right of your bed is the bathroom. It has three parts to it. Let me show you. You can just leave your stuff here." With that said, he led me into my bathroom.

"This first part, obviously, is where you can use the restroom and wash your hands and face if you would like. This little closet here has toilet paper, face rags, and soaps for your hands and face." He led me through a door to another little room. "This next part is where you can undress for your bath or shower. This basket right here is where you can leave your dirty laundry after you undress. Japan or I will retrieve your clothes to be washed, so you do not have to worry about it." He then led me to the third part. This time, my gasp was more than audible. I felt as if Japan was able to hear it all the way in the kitchen, it was so loud.

This was no bathroom. It was fit for royalty! It was huge! There was a large marble bath, with fancy golden colored knobs and a large faucet. It was big enough for two people! There was also another bath, but this one had little spouts, clearly for a whirlpool bath. This one was a little smaller than the bathtub. It had several knobs for adjusting the whirlpool. There was also a large shower. It had sliding doors, with frosted glass for privacy, or maybe decoration, and golden railing. Both of the baths and the shower came equipped with different soaps, shampoos, conditioners, oils, rags, scrubbers, and other things to wash with. They also had their own separate towel racks.

I couldn't help but to gawk at the whole thing. How was I supposed to use all of this? I almost wanted to shove Germany out of the room right then, just so I could give each of them a try, but instead I just stood there, amazed at what I was seeing.

"I see you like it? You can get a bath after dinner, if you want. You can try them all out then. But for now, I think it should wait. Now come on." We headed out of the bathroom, and back into my bedroom. Just as we entered my room, Japan came in.

"*Sumimasen. Dinner is ready now. Come down when you are ready." As soon as he was finished, Japan bowed, and exited the room.

"Oh! I almost forgot something! Wait here." Ludwig left me in my room, and headed down the hall. It looked like it was in the direction of his room. After a few moments, he returned with a small folded up piece of clothing. It had a very pretty pattern on it, and as I looked at it, Germany unfolded it for me, and held it out. I realized that it was a kimono, with two parts, both meant to be kept closed, and that the pattern of the outer coat was dark blue with silver blended into it, and that the inner coat was golden. Over-all, it was incredibly beautiful. I loved it.

"This is your kimono, okay? The chopsticks are going to be at your place at the table. I will teach you how to use them in a second. But first of all, you need to learn what the Japanese words mean. *Itadakimasu is always used before meals, and is basically like giving thanks for the food. And *Gochisousama Deshita is used after meals. It means that you have finished your meal, and that you are thankful. It is also always used", Germany explained. Romano noticed that Germany was now blushing.

"Okay, so how do I put my kimono on? I've never worn one before", I asked. All of a sudden, Germany was blushing immensely. What was wrong with him? This question was answered immediately.

"….I'm sorry, but you are going to be embarrassed by my answer, okay?" What was going on?

"Okay, just tell me. Let's just get it over with, alright?" I was getting worried, and I think he noticed.

"….You are going to have to strip down out of your clothes. For first-time-wearers, it is impossible to get it on by yourself. I will assist you in putting it on. Then I must put my own kimono on." All this was said with his blush increasing. I now realized just why he had been blushing so much. He was about to see me almost naked, and I had no choice. But it wasn't just the fact that I would be mostly naked that bothered me and scared me. I was gay, and I was about to be seen by another guy, even if it was a guy I hated. It was actually humiliating, not just embarrassing. Germany took notice of this, and immediately began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that it's a house rule that when one of us cooks, we use the same etiquette as if we were in the country of the host. For Italy, we use Italian words and etiquette, for Japan, we use Japanese words and etiquette, and for me, we use German words and etiquette. It was something we decided after we all became close, like family. I wish it didn't have to be this way for you, but Japan requested it." Germany looked immensely embarrassed and maybe even a little ashamed now. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was having to watch me undress, and then he was going to have to dress me. Damn, he was tough.

"Okay, so should I start undressing, then?" God, I was so embarrassed. Germany nodded his head, so I started slowly taking off each article of clothing until I was down to my underwear. Thank god I only wore boxers. Goodness knows how bad this would be if I had worn briefs.

"Okay, now keep still so I can put the kimono on you." I nodded my head, and Germany picked up the kimono. Keeping the parts together, he carefully slipped first one sleeve, then the other, onto my body. After that, he folded the front right side over the left, and asked me to hold it exactly how he had it. He had put the sash for my kimono over his shoulder when he first started dressing me, and he now took it off, and started to put it on. Almost immediately, I noticed that it was going to be tied in the back. I asked him why, and he explained.

"In Japan, when they put the sash on the kimono, it usually ties in the back, like this one does. It's part of the reason why I have to do it for you. It is actually very difficult to do at first, especially for yourself, because you can't really see what you're doing." Now I understood. Finally, it was tied around me. It was a little tight around my waist, thanks to the sash, but Germany assured me it would feel better soon, and that I would get used to it. With my kimono on, Germany said he had to get his on now. I nodded, and suddenly became surprised. Germany was undressing in front of me!

"Hey, what the hell are you doing!" I was completely shocked already, but his response made me even more so, and maybe even a little mad.

"I'm getting my kimono on. I brought it with me, because I saw no point in getting you ready, then having to go back to my room, when it would be much quicker if we both just got ready in here.

"Oh, well fine, then." After saying that, I walked over to the other side of my bed, and leaned against the bed post. While he undressed, I couldn't help but sneak a few looks at his body. I had to admit, he looked good. But what was this feeling in my chest? Maybe I really was getting sick.

'_Should I tell Ludwig?...No, he would just start to worry about me.'_

Finally, he finished dressing. Again, I had to admit that he looked very good. His kimono was dark green with a little light-blue blended into it, and the under-coat was the same shade of light blue. I also noticed that his sash was light blue with dark green blended into it. Mine was gold and dark blue mixed together. I was about to ask if we should go down to dinner when Germany handed me weird sock-like things. He told me to put them on, and I complied. He also put some on, and then did something I had never seen him do. He reached up with his hands and unslicked his hair, letting it fall into his face. Trying not to stare, I finally asked him if we should head to dinner.

"Yes, I suppose we should head to dinner now." And with that, we left for the kitchen

**Author's Notes: Okay, so about all the *s by the words. Here are the translations, explanations, and notes, and where they are located.**

**1st paragraph= Romano-san - -san is a suffix used in Japan. It is formal. Japan doesn't know Romano extremely well, so he uses this after Romano's name,**

**Barbaresco Wine- An Italian wine. I found the name on the internet while looking for a kind of wine for Romano to drink.**

**Bruschetta- Some Italian dish, same case as Romano's wine: Random choice.**

**Potato Gnocchi- I figured it would be funny if I used a pasta that had potatoes in it. I think the noodles have potatoes in them or something, so yeah.**

**Kraut- German for herb, it is used as a rude name for Germany from Romano, with love JK**

**2nd paragraph= Fratello- Italian for brother.**

**Patata Bastardo- Italian for potato bastard, but I'm sure you guessed that one yourself**

**Paragraph where Germany sais what Japan is cooking= Miso-Soup- A soup made from fermented bean paste (whatever THAT is). I have had it, and it's kind of thin, and salty, but I loved it!**

**Sukiyaki- Japanese hot-pot. Consists of meat, usually thin-sliced beef, vegetables, and other ingredients, with soy sauce, and is usually dipped in beaten raw eggs before eaten.**

**Yakitori-Several bite-size pieces of chicken skewered on bamboo and grilled. Can be used with non-fowl ingredients.**

**Rice- A common staple food in Japan, eaten with most meals.**

**Sushi- Rice and raw fish wrapped in seaweed, occasionally other ingredients are used in it.**

**Also, if you caught the Lonely Islands reference while they were talking in the café, when Lovino responds to Feliciano's idea of him staying with Germany, then let me know. I shall shower you with so much praise, you'll die.**


	3. Dinner With Germany And Japan

Ch.3

As soon as we entered the kitchen, Germany led me over to the table. At first glance, it appeared to be a low table without any chairs. But upon further inspection, I noticed small cushions on the floor at each spot. On the table were a few different dishes, all probably the same ones that had been listed earlier.

"Please, sit where you wish. Just be sure to sit kneeling with both legs tucked under you neatly. It's much more comfortable than it may seem at first. And fix your plate as you please. Eat as much as you like, there is plenty more in the kitchen. I tend to make a lot more than we need", said Japan.

"Oh, okay. Thanks", I replied.

I took a seat on a small dark blue cushion, and surprisingly, it was very comfortable. After the other two got seated, I started fixing my plate. They quickly followed suit, obviously just as hungry, if not more. Once we had our plates fixed, we said 'Itadakimasu', and began eating. Well, they did. I couldn't. Germany had forgotten to teach me the art of using chopsticks. Noticing my obvious confusion, Germany got my attention.

"My deepest apologies, Romano. I forgot to teach you how to eat properly with chopsticks. Here, allow me to help you." Germany reached over and picked up the Asian eating utensils. After breaking them apart, (See A/N below this paragraph.) he asked me which of my hands was dominant. Replying by saying my right, he told me to extend it towards him. Doing as he told me, he placed the chopsticks in my hand, and fixed them the way they needed to be. Instructing me on how to hold, move, set down, and pick them up, he let me try them out for myself. At first I found it somewhat difficult, but after a few tries, all of which I dropped my food back onto my plate or into its bowl, I finally managed to carry a piece to my mouth. The food was like nothing I had ever had before. It was wonderful! I congratulated Japan on his cooking, and in returned he thanked me and hung his head in embarrassment.

((A/N- In many anime shows and other sources, I have seen Japanese people eat with chopsticks. In some/most of them, the chopsticks are connected at the top, I think, and they break them apart to use them.))

We ate, talked, ate some more, and talked some more for the duration of the meal. After a while, I realized I hadn't even touched my sushi. It wasn't that I didn't want to eat it, I had just forgotten about it. Taking a piece of it, I started to dip it into some sort of green paste in a dish on the plate, and put some sort of pale orange herb on it. Getting a generous amount of the paste on the bite I was about to take, I began lifting it to my mouth. Just as my mouth began closing around it, Germany suddenly called my name, sounding like something bad had just happened. I bit down, and turned to him to see what he wanted. He looked like something bad was happening right in front of him. Now noticing Japan's face, I realized he had a face identical to Germany's. Confused, I tilted my head.

Then I felt it. It wasn't sudden, but gradual. At first it was just a small sting, and a funny taste in my mouth. Then it began getting worse. And worse still. After a few more moments, I had something that felt like an herb-flavored fire in my mouth. All at once, my nose and eyes began watering, and I couldn't help but let out a small, pathetic whimper, much to my shame. But this shit was hot! I may as well have had hell growing in there! Then I heard it. Laughter. The sons-of-bitches were laughing at my predicament! How dare they do that when I was in so much pain!

((A/N again! The green paste is wasabi, a Japanese horse radish paste used on sushi, and maybe other foods, and it is the spiciest thing my sister Chelsea and I have ever eaten, no joke! It literally takes a small tap in it with your sushi, just enough to get a slight green color onto your food, and that's enough, unless you are miraculously able to handle incredibly spicy things. Then go right ahead and use as much as you please. It is hot enough to make your nose clear up and start to run, and it makes tears fall from your eyes. I 'm not saying it makes you cry, like with sobbing and stuff, it just causes you to get watery eyes. Seriously, this stuff is hot, like Justin Bieber hot! JK, he would be hotter if he got hit by a bus and chewed on by a pack of ravenous wolves. Sorry JB fans, but he sucks. Even if he IS from Canada. But point said, don't eat wasabi if you have low spicy tolerance levels.))

"Again, my apologies, Romano. I really should have warned you beforehand not to use so much wasabi and ginger on your food. You see, wasabi is very spicy, and only requires a small dot for just one piece of sushi, and sometimes even that can be overwhelming for some people. Your brother had the worst first time with it. He hasn't touched the stuff since. And ginger is a very strong tasting herb. It doesn't even take a full shred of it if you are using it for a small piece of sushi. As soon as I realized what you were about to consume, I tried to stop you, but you ate it before I could really warn you. I'm very sorry. Are you okay?" While Germany had been saying all this, I had managed to swallow the food, and had just started to chug my water, when all of a sudden he took my water from me.

"Hey! What the HELL do you think you are doing, dammit! I need that, in case you hadn't noticed", I yelled.

"Water will only worsen the pain. Use milk instead. There is a small dish of it beside your plate. Water only spreads the spice around your mouth, while milk washes it away." He said this with a calm face, actually looking concerned. He had finally stopped laughing at me. I took a huge mouthful of said milk, and instantly, the burning subsided. So he had been right. I downed the rest of my milk, and went back to my food. This time I chose not to use either the wasabi or ginger. The ginger must have been what made the funny taste in my mouth, so it was off the menu for me, and the wasabi had been too spicy, so it was eternally damned in my mind from now on. I could see why fratello might refuse to eat it after his own incident. If what Germany said was true, and Feliciano had an even more painful time with it, then who could blame him, right?

We all finished our food, with only a few giggles only from the other two since they couldn't help but think back on mine and Feliciano's incidents with wasabi and ginger. I, of course, didn't laugh about it. I didn't find anything funny about it at all. Japan had somehow found the balls to take pictures and record the whole thing. Offering to take everyone's dishes, Japan left the room. Germany and I remained at the table.

"So besides the sushi issue, did you enjoy your first home-cooked Japanese meal", asked Germany.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. And you?" I wanted to know if he really liked Japanese food or not. I wasn't sure why I wanted to know, but the question just slipped before I could catch it. Germany seemed slightly surprised at the question, but answered immediately.

"I enjoyed it a lot. Japan always seems to make good food when it's his turn to make dinner."

"Oh, okay. Just wondering", I answered. "Well, I'm gonna go try out that shower like you said, so I should get back to my room. And Japan, good job with the food. It was wonderful!" Japan seemed to be surprised that I had noticed him standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. He must have forgotten that I represent the mafia side of Italy, unlike my brother, who represented the Vatican side of Italy. He represented the better part of Italy, Heaven, and I represented the worse part, Hell. I was trained to hear the smallest things, see them, feel them, smell them, taste them, to sense their presence. I had known Japan had been there from the very moment he was a few meters from walking through the door. I didn't mind him listening to us talk, though. After all, we had been talking about him and his cooking.

"Please excuse my intruding, and thank you for the compliment, Romano-san. I truly appreciate it." Japan bowed, and I stood and returned the action. I said that I would probably go to bed soon, since I was going to get my bath, and that I would probably be tired afterwards, since I was in a different time zone now, and was already feeling a little tired. ((A/N- I do not actually know if Germany and Italy are in different zones, but I am almost positive, because my phone has this setting where you can have both your own current time showing and another time showing, and it had Berlin, Germany and Rome, Italy in different time zones, plus they are several miles apart, like 100 or something, so yeah, diff. zones, at least in this story. I hereby decree it to be so!))

"Well, goodnight, and sleep well, Romano-san. I do believe I will go to sleep as well now. I shall see you in the morning." Japan then turned and left the kitchen, heading for the hallway that led to the rooms.

"I think I will go to my study and do a little work before bed. If you need anything, just come find me there. It is through my bedroom and into another room, so feel free to come ask me anything. Just knock before you come in, if you don't mind."

"Okay, sure. Well, see you later." I turned and left to go to my room. I was just dying to get to try out my new bathroom. Once I got into the second little room, I stripped down and put my dirty clothes into the hamper. If it had only been Germany and I, I would have dumped the clothes onto the floor just to irk the bastard, but I didn't want to inconvenience Japan. I walked into the large bathroom, and looked over at the regular bathtub, then the whirlpool bathtub. I decided on the whirlpool since I was very tired, and a little something for my muscles would be nice, plus I planned on putting bubble-bath into the water just for fun. It wasn't something I had in my house since luxury wasn't something I worried too much about. I was always focused on the mafia, my pride and joy. I just didn't have time for things such as whirlpools and bubble-bath. This was all new to me.

I grabbed a fresh towel and robe from the closet and went over to the whirlpool. I hung them up and was about to start the water when I heard a knock at the door.

"Herr Romano, may I come in?" It was a girl's voice, probably about 16 to 20 years old. Germany never… then it hit me. On the way to Germany's house, he had briefly mentioned that he had house maids. They didn't really do much but occasionally answer the door and the phone, clean the house occasionally, and watch the house if no one else was home. ((A/N- Herr is German for Mr. The girl is calling Romano "Mr." Romano in order to be polite.))

"Um, I'm not dressed. What do you need?" I tried to sound nice since this was a lady I was talking to. I could fight, curse, and swear at men, but never would I do such things to a lady unless she was in the mafia, and since there was rarely a girl in the mafia, let alone high up in it, I had only fought against two, winning both times. Of course, they lived, since it was a simple small-fight in order to teach them how to fight. I hadn't been trying to do any serious damage, just inflict a few cuts and bruises here and there.

"I am here to draw your bath for you. Herr Beilschmidt mentioned that you would be coming here to his house, and that we should make you as comfortable as possible. I just finished speaking with him, and he said to come draw your bath for you. May I come in? I don't mind if you are naked." I noticed the girl had an accent, and I recognized it as German. I reached over and grabbed my robe from the peg I had hung it up on.

"Okay, come in." The door opened, and a young, pale girl entered the room. She looked no older than 20, and that was the absolute oldest. She had long, shiny, pale brown hair, almost like the color of a deer. She had light blue eyes, but they weren't like Germany's. They were soft, gentle, and feminine.

"Oh, you didn't have to put on your robe for me. I'm used to seeing Herr Beilschmidt ,Herr Vargas, and Herr Honda naked, so you have nothing to worry about, unless you are embarrassed of your body."

"Oh, um no, I'm not ashamed of my body, I just wasn't sure what to do. Thank you for coming to draw my bath. If you don't mind my asking, what do you mean that you are used to seeing the others naked?" Did they run around naked in the house or something?

"Oh, I run their baths sometimes. It's one of the things I do. I also do some of the daily chores such as cleaning, doing laundry, and occasionally cooking if the others are too busy. But that doesn't happen too often, especially if Herr Vargas is here. Never before have I seen such a happy person in my life. He acts like there is no such thing as sadness most of the time. The only time he looks sad is when he gets in trouble, we run out of pasta, which is very rarely, or Germany refuses him entrance into his study, which usually only happens if he has a lot of paperwork. Germany also mentioned that you are Herr Vargas's elder brother. I can see some of the resemblance. You have the same eyes and faces, but you look a little older than him." She sounded so friendly, and didn't even seem fazed by his almost nakedness.

"Well, I'm older by…" Shit! I couldn't just tell her the truth, because the truth would cause her to have a heart attack. My brother and I were separated by about a hundred years, which really wasn't a lot for a country, but for a human like her, it was a very long time. So I lied.

"2 ½ years."

"Oh! That's wonderful! Well, would you like me to run the bath now?"

"Sure, if you want." I moved aside so she could get to the bathtub. She asked me how warm I wanted it, and then she adjusted to my preference. She asked me if I wanted any oils, bath salts, or soaps in the water, and ashamedly, I said I wanted all three, including bubble-bath. She went straight to the closet and grabbed a large bottle of bubble-bath. She went to the filling tub and began pouring in the soap. Then she added the oils, salts, and other soaps. Once she was finished, she told me to remove my robe and get in. I slowly complied, ashamed of what she saw. It wasn't that I wasn't well endowed, (aka big dick and balls.) I just had a lot of scars on my body. About ¼ of them were from the mafia, while the other ¾ were from simply being a nation, therefore being in battles and earning some scars from them.

But she didn't seem very surprised. Then I remembered. She saw the others naked all the time. She was used to seeing our poor, marred bodies on a constant basis.

"If you need anything, I will be right outside. If you would like, I could go have some clothed prepared for you. Anything in particular?" Oh, this was nice. Again, Germany must really not like spoiling guests in this house. Nuh-uh, totally unspoiled.

"Well, actually, in the middle far right drawer of my clothes dresses is my red silk pajamas. Can you get those, please?" I felt bad about making her do everything, but she offered, and besides, I was a guest.

"Of course! I will have them laid out for you on your bed." And with that, she left. I sat in the tub for several minutes, then began bathing. I grabbed a rag, poured a little soap on it, and washed my body. Then I grabbed some shampoo and rubbed it into my hair, making sure to thoroughly scrub my scalp. I rinsed it out and applied conditioner, and while that sat in my hair, I rinsed my body off. Once I finished that, I rinsed most of the conditioner out of my hair, leaving just a little bit in my hair so it would be softer.

I released the water from the tub, and carefully stood up. I stepped out onto the rug and grabbed my towel, drying my body off. I then rubbed it through my hair till it was no longer dripping, just damp, then put my robe on. I walked into the second room and discarded my towel into the hamper. I then walked on into my room, and headed over to my clothes. On my bed were my pajamas, underwear, socks, and on the floor in front of the clothes were some house-shoes. I dressed and put the shoes, and headed out into the hallway. I was starting to feel a little thirsty, so I decided to try and fix myself something to drink. My plans were soon interrupted when I stepped out into the living room. There in one of the recliners was Germany, reading some sort of book with a cup of tea sitting on a small side table beside him. He looked up, noticing my presence.

"So you have finished with your bath, then. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes. I was just on my way to get something to drink. You never told me that the maids ran the baths, too, or that they saw you guys naked, and laid our clothes out for us."

"Yes, well, I didn't think it was important. So you want something to drink, then? Let me fix you something, since you don't know where everything is yet." What? I could take care of myself! I didn't need the macho potato doing things for me, guest or not.

"Hey! I can do it myself!" Germany looked surprised, but allowed me to go into the kitchen. I looked around for a second, trying to think where the cups might be. I started opening cabinets until I finally found one with little glasses in it. I grabbed one and went to the fridge. I looked around in it till I found what I wanted. I pulled out the orange juice and poured it into my glass. After placing it back where I found it, I grabbed my glass and carefully carried it back with me to my room. Germany had returned to his chair, and had looked up from his book.

"Are you heading to bed now?"

"Yeah."

"Well, goodnight then, and sleep well, Romano."

"Yeah, whatever. You too, bastard. See you in the morning. Maybe." Maybe, just to piss him off, I would sleep in really late. I felt tired enough to sleep in until at least twelve, maybe even one or two. Just whenever I felt like getting up. I headed back to my room and shut the door behind me. I drank my juice and sat the glass on the desk. I would take it back to the kitchen in the morning. Walking over to the bed, I realized the maid must have returned because the covers were turned down, and some really puffy, soft looking pillows were now sitting at the head of the bed. I took off my clothes and sat them on the bedside table. I was Italian, so it wasn't strange for me to sleep naked. They were just for if I left the room, otherwise I would just stay naked. Crawling under the covers, I got comfortable, then reached over, and clicked my lamp off. I felt something under the covers with me, and pulled it out, switching on the lamp. It was my special pillow. The one I didn't even recall packing. It was one that was given to me when I was a baby. My tomato pillow. It had managed to survive from the time I lived in Austria's house, through my time in Spain's house, all the way up to now. The only people to know about it were Spain, Belgium, and Netherlands, and that was because every one of them, at some point in time, had come into my room without knocking when I was little and caught me with it. I had kept it hidden at Austria's house because I was afraid he might try to get rid of it. At Spain's house, it was kept hidden for the same reasons, and also because I didn't want them teasing me about it or saying it was cute, especially Spain. That thought suddenly told me exactly who must have packed the pillow among my things. SPAIN! He had dropped by some time while I was packing clothes, so he must have seen my pillow, and stuffed it down into my clothes, out of sight. The bastard. He must have remembered I couldn't sleep well without it. I had forgotten until the day I was to leave. I had looked everywhere for it, but of course I couldn't find it, since Spain had already packed it for me. I had to remember to call him tomorrow and thank him aka yell at him for putting it in with my stuff without telling me. After settling back in and turning my lamp back off, I laid my head down. After about a minute or two, I fell asleep.

A/N- If there are any mistakes, please tell me! I have a beta-reader, but I don't know if we will catch all the mistakes.

Thank you so much, YaoiLuvr! You are a huge help! :3

Also, tell me what should happen next, like if he should have erotic, wet dreams about his German Bitch or something JK JK JK! But really, I need ideas! I don't think there are any translations or notes needed, since I did that already. If there are questions, message me. In fact, message me if you just want to talk or if you have ideas. I'm open to your ideas! And give me criticism. Good or bad. I want to know what you think.


	4. Japan Leaves

Ch.4

'_Where is that light coming from?'_

I slowly opened my eyes to see what the light was. It was coming from my window. I had gone to bed with the blinds and curtains open, so there was nothing to block the bright sunshine's path to my face. As warm and nice as it was, it was getting on my nerves. I still felt a little sleepy, but even after I turned over and shut my eyes, it kept me awake. There was just no going back to sleep, dammit.

'_What time is it, anyways?'_

Turning towards my bed-side table, I took a look at my clock. What I saw made me want to go back to bed even more. Staring at me were the numbers telling me it was only 9:34 a.m. Even at home, if there were no meetings I had to attend (there hardly ever were), I would sleep till about 11 a.m. I could already feel a bad mood coming on from being woken up too early. And to make matters worse, I could hear somebody down the hall. So I wasn't the only one up, then.

'_Might as well go see if everyone else is awake already.'_

I got up and started looking for a clean set of clothes. After pulling out my pink shirt and some dark jeans, I walked out of my room and into the hall. I turned to walk towards the other bedrooms and nearly collided with Japan. He had a few small traveling bags with him and seemed to have been heading for the living room.

"Ah! Ohayougozaimasu!" Japan bowed down as he spoke, so I did the same. Must have been another Japanese tradition.

"I hope you slept well last night. Did you enjoy the bath and bed", he probed.

"Yes. It was fine. How was your night?" I typically didn't show much interest in other people, but I didn't want to seem rude towards him since he was nice enough to cook dinner and ask me about my night.

"It was just fine, thank you."

"Okay. Have you seen potato freak? Or is he still asleep?"

"I'm afraid you just missed him. He went to the store to get me something for my trip. Did you need him for something?"

"No. Just wondering. So what did he have to get? If you don't mind my asking."

"Just some snacks and drinks for the trip to my meeting in Turkey. It will be a long trip, so I am taking provisions. I don't like airline food very much, and Germany was kind enough to offer to get me supplies before I left."

"Okay. Well I'm going to go try and make use of the bastard's kitchen while he's gone. You want anything?" Did I really offer to cook somebody else some food?

"No, thank you. I have already eaten, and I will have food on the plane with me."

"Okay." I walked to the kitchen and looked around. I had no idea where anything was except the fridge, and I wasn't sure what I was allowed to use. Well, better start pulling things out and hope for the best. I decided to make a Spanish/Italian omelet, which meant I needed eggs, onions, tomatoes, cheese, peppers, maybe some sort of ham or something. After a few minutes of looking around, I finally managed to find a frying pan to cook in. I pulled out a mixing bowl and cracked 4 eggs into it. I beat them up and added some milk to make them fluffy. Then I added the other ingredients to the mixture. I carefully poured it all into my pan and let it sit there and cook. After a couple of minutes, I folded it in half and flipped it. After another 5 minutes, my food was done.

I grabbed a plate and slid my food out onto it. After finding a fork, I sat down at the counter on a stool and began eating my breakfast. It was very good, which was no surprise. It was something France taught me to make a few years ago. I just learned to add a touch of Spanish and Italian ingredients so that I wasn't just eating the wine bastard's food.

About the time I finished my omelet, I heard the front door open and shut. I quickly put my dishes into the sink and went to see who had just walked in. Germany was standing there with a bunch of bags in his hands, and he looked like he might fall over at any second. Without thinking, I took a few of the heavier bags from his arms. Germany looked surprised but didn't say anything as he strode into the kitchen, with me ensuing close behind. We set the bags down on the counter carefully. Without a word, we started taking things from their bags.

"You don't have to help put them up Romano. I can do that myself. Thank you so much for helping me carry them in here."

"It's fine. Just tell me where they go, and I can put them up."

"Fine, if you insist." It took us about 10 minutes, but we managed to get all of the groceries put away in their proper places. We left out the items Japan would be carrying with him on his trip. I walked out of the kitchen and went to find Japan so I could tell him that Germany was back with his stuff. I stopped outside of his door and knocked.

"_Come in!"_ I pushed the door open to find Japan packing clothes into a large suitcase. Beside it was a suitcase, probably also containing clothes. Just how long was he going away?

"Hey. Germany's back with your stuff, if you want to go get it. So how's the packing going?"

"It's just fine. Thank you for notifying me Romano. I will get my stuff when I pass through there again. I'm just trying to get my stuff packed and out to my car. I've already packed the small stuff, as you may have noticed this morning. If you don't mind, could you help me get this stuff out to the car? It would really help, and I must leave as soon as possible. Turkey wants me there by tomorrow night if possible so he can get me settled into my room. The meeting will be the day after I get there."

"Okay. No problem." I grabbed the suitcase and Japan picked up his bag since it was closer to him. We walked to the front entrance, and I noticed that Germany had put the food and drinks into a small bag, so I grabbed that too, then went outside with Japan. He opened the trunk of his car and we dropped his luggage into the back with the rest of his stuff.

"Thank you for helping me, Romano-san. I will come back inside one more time to tell Germany-san goodbye, and then I must bid you two farewell. I don't have much more time left. My plane leaves in an hour and a half, and it will take me around 30 to 45 minutes to get there, and I don't want to be caught in traffic."

"Alright, well let's get inside, then." We started walking back to the house when Germany opened the door. He stood aside so we could enter, then shut the door behind us.

"Well, I guess this is it, then, Japan. I hope you have a very safe trip to Turkey. Be careful, though. I wouldn't completely trust him." The bastard actually looked concerned about Japan's well-being. Surely Turkey wasn't that bad? Then again, he HAD tried conquering me when I was a little kid…

"I wouldn't worry about Turkey, Germany-san. He and I are very good friends. The only thing I should worry about is if Greece were to show up, which he won't since he has a meeting with Italy-san. So I will be fine." At the mention of Greece, I noticed Japan's face go slightly red.

"Well, I guess so. Just be careful around him, okay?" Japan nodded his head, which seemed to satisfy Germany. Then I realized it was my turn to say goodbye.

"Well…Goodbye then, Japan. I hope you have a nice trip to Turkey." God, I was horrible at saying goodbye. I felt bad that I couldn't do any better than that.

"Thank you, and I will. Well, goodbye, and be nice to each other, okay? I don't want to come home to a bunch of bloodshed and a crying Italy-san. Romano-san, please try to cut down on the insults towards Germany. There are ladies present, so show respect. And Germany, don't give him any reasons to insult you, okay? I should be back in about a week, so try to last until then. Farewell you two." Japan bowed and turned to the door. As he walked out, he waved to us, then shut the door behind him. I turned back to Germany. We were alone now.

"So what now? It's almost dinner time. Which one of us should cook tonight?" I was feeling hungry now, and I didn't want to wait much longer to eat.

"I will cook tonight. You don't have to cook while you are here unless you want to. Otherwise the maids might cook if I don't."

"Okay. How long until it's ready?"

"Not long. Probably around thirty minutes. If you're hungry, you can get a snack to tide you over until dinner's done. If you want, you can take it to your room. I will come get you when I'm done." He then turned and went into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner for us. After a moment, I followed him.

"Hey. Where are those tomatoes? I want one." God, I was craving tomatoes so badly. Spain wouldn't let me bring any since he said they probably wouldn't last the trip up here. So I just had to hope that Kraut had some somewhere at his house.

"They're over there in that basket. I just bought a bunch more while I was at the store. You can have as many as you want. They're all yours for all I care. I don't eat them much, since the whole incident with me trying to force Japan onto a diet. We ate nothing but tomatoes for several days. I'm surprised I can even eat them anymore. I don't have many recipes that call for them either." Well, that was all I needed. I went to the basket and took three tomatoes. I would probably finish all three of them before dinner, but they would help keep me from being too hungry until Germany finished our food. Then I remembered the rule.

"Hey, is there some sort of etiquette I need to follow tonight? Or are you not cooking German?" Germany stopped what he was doing and looked over at me.

"I'm just doing a regular dinner tonight, so don't worry about how to act." He turned back to the food, so I left. Once I got back to my room, I set down my tomatoes. I felt like getting a shower before dinner. I headed into the bathroom and stripped. Then I got out a towel and robe. I hung them up beside my shower and turned on the water. As if summoned, the young maid from the night before entered.

"Would you like for me to fetch you some clothes?" I nodded and she left, closing the door behind her. After she was gone, I checked my water. It seemed to be warm enough, so I stepped in. I immediately began washing my hair. After it was rinsed of shampoo, I put in the conditioner. I let it sit in my hair while I washed my body. Once I was done with that, I rinsed most of the conditioner from my hair. For a few minutes, I just stood there with the water running over my body, occasionally turning a little so each part of my body was under the hot spray of water. After I had enough of that, I turned the knobs off and got out. I dried off with my towel and slipped on my robe. I slowly walked back to my room and removed my robe. I put on my clean clothes and lay down on the bed. I reached over and snagged one of the tomatoes off my table. I quickly ate the first tomato, then the second a little slower. Finally, I ate the third one, taking time to really enjoy it. Once it was gone, I laid out across the bed. I was a little tired, so I shut my eyes.

Before I knew it, I heard someone gently calling my name. I opened my eyes to find Germany looking down towards me. I sat up and got out of the bed.

"If you're still hungry, dinner is ready. I hope you enjoy it." I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it, but it looked like Germany had been slightly red in the face. What was wrong with him? Without further thought, I followed him back to the kitchen. We sat down at the table, this time with chairs. It was a small table for four people. I sat across from him and began eating my food. After getting in a few good bites, I noticed I was being watched. Looking up, my golden eyes met the bastardo's blue ones. They held amusement in them.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that? It's really pissing me off, fucking bastard. Dannazione.* (A/N-This apparently means 'Dammit' according to spicyitalianromano, one of my dearly beloved favorite readers. They/he/she gave me a small list of Italian curses. Thank you spicyitalianromano! I love you!)

"You must be extremely tired because you look like you could faceplant your food any second now." That idiot bastardo! Was he just going to sit there and watch me till I passed out? I scarfed down the rest of my food, making sure to glare at Germany several times. I took my dishes and put them in the sink and headed out of the kitchen. I walked past Germany without looking at him and went straight to my room. I immediately stripped out of my clothes and lay down in the bed. I fell asleep in an instant, but I didn't get much sleep. I decided to go ask Germany if he had anything that would put me to sleep for the night, like some really strong cold medicine.

I quietly opened my door and stepped out. I turned towards the end of the hall where Germany's bedroom was. I carefully hurried down the hallway to his door.

'_Should I knock? He's probably asleep by now…'_

I thought about it for another moment, and then decided knocking was probably a good idea. I knocked a few times, but I received no answer. I tried knocking louder, but still got nothing. I turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. Peeking in, I was surprised to find that the bed was empty. I looked around the room before stepping inside. I strode over to the door which led to his bathroom. I hit the door a few times but I still had no answer. I went through to the next door, knocked, and once again had no answer. Making my way through to the final door, I listened closely. I could hear water running on the other side. Was he getting a shower or something? I was about to bang on the door when I thought I heard something. I waited a few moments, and it came again, a little louder. I stood outside the door, waiting to see if it would come a third time. It came after a few more moments, this time a little louder than the others. Something about the sound…Surely I had misheard it…It couldn't be what I thought it was...

"_**AH!"**_ Okay, now there was no denying it. I gently, quietly opened the door just enough to see inside. What I saw was something I had never wanted to see. Germany was standing in the shower under the water with the shower door open. He was hunched over with his back to the water. One hand was up against the wall, the other one gripping his cock. As I watched, he slowly slid his hand up and down the shaft. With each slide, he let out a moan. He began rubbing the head, letting out small pleasurable moans. He slowly began thrusting into his hand, gradually getting faster. All at once, I felt my blood rush downwards. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing! After a few more moments, I pulled back and shut the door, careful not to alert Kraut to my presence. The last thing I wanted was to get caught in an awkward moment like this.

As soon as I was back in his bedroom, I took off for my room. Once I got there, I undressed again and climbed into bed. I wasn't sure if I could fall back asleep after watching that, but I didn't want to be awake with my thoughts anymore. I laid in bed for about twenty more minutes before sleep finally washed over me again.

_**POV CHANGE! JAPAN'S POINT OF VIEW! THIS TAKES PLACE BEFORE HE LEAVES, UP TO THE POINT WHERE HE IS ON THE PLANE.**_

"Germany-san, will you be okay here without me?" I was worried that he might get in a fight with Romano as soon as I was gone. I wouldn't put it past the two.

"Ja, Japan. We will be just fine. I'm sure I can handle him on my own." From where I was looking, he didn't look so confident.

"Germany, I'm not so worried about you handling Romano. I'm more worried about you handling yourself." Judging by the look on his face, he had no idea what I was even talking about. Maybe it was time to tell him what I knew.

"Germany-san, I…know something. Something that I probably shouldn't know. Here, I found this while dusting under your bed. It was in a little box with some…other stuff, I suppose I should say."

"I'm sorry that you had to see that photo, Japan…I must say, I'm rather embarrassed…" What I had handed over to him was a picture of Romano naked in bed. It appeared to have been taken while he was asleep one night, probably last night, since the bed he was in was the one here at Germany's house.

"But Germany-san, this is nothing to be ashamed about! It is your own preference. You can't help it if it's what you want." Not only had I found this picture, but I had found photos of other men in the box as well. Surely that meant something. Was Germany gay? In WWII homosexuality was banned, but it had made a slight comeback afterwards.

"I suppose I had just never planned for anyone to find out about any of this. Italy found some stuff, but he didn't really know what it was about. I figured it was better not to explain it to him."

"Good. He wouldn't understand it anyways. So I guess it's safe to say Romano doesn't know?"

"Yes." Just as I thought.

"Germany, I realize I'm becoming bold with this, but if I may ask…Do you use this stuff while pleasuring yourself? Such as masturbation or simply touching yourself?" His red face stood out in contrast to the rest of his pale skin. Clearly that was a yes. Germany hung his head in shame before replying quietly.

"Yes, I do."

"Very well. Well, I really must get my stuff ready now. So I'll see you later, Germany-san." I bowed to him and headed back to my room. Well at least I knew what I was getting him for Christmas now.

I had finally packed my bags and was now carrying them outside, Romano carrying one of the heavier things. I couldn't help but think of the picture of him I had found. I wondered if I should tell him about how Germany felt, but then decided against it. If Germany wanted him to know, he would tell him in his own time. For now, things would just have to work themselves out. I went back inside for a few minutes to say my farewells to the others, but I couldn't get my mind off of Germany. Every once in a while, I would give him a look, trying to hint at the fact that he needed to make a move if he wanted to have any chance with Romano. Of course, he hadn't actually said that he loved Romano, but why else would he have a naked picture of him? Finally, the time came for me to go. I walked outside and got into my car. As expected, there was traffic, so it took me about 45 minutes to get to the airport, and another 10 to get through security and onto my plane. I sat in my seat, but my mind wouldn't leave Germany-san or Romano-san. Would Germany profess his love? I doubted it. He may be confident on the battlefield and in meetings and during training, but he was horrible at love. Unless something happened, he would never tell Romano. He was hopeless.

I began feeling tired since it was almost time for bed. I reclined my seat a little and shut off my light. A stewardess brought me a blanket and pillow, and I made myself comfortable. The last thought in my head before I drifted off into sleep was _'I will have to give them both a little boost to get them on the right track, and it has to happen before I return from my trip. Otherwise, they won't have the house to themselves. Thank goodness I left all my cameras on, because I have got to see how this plays out._


End file.
